AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cody grumbled something about nosy people that Demetrius didn’t catch.
“What’s brought you back to town?” Demetrius asked.
“Saw a little write up online about your latest troubles. Sounded a little fishy to me, so thought I’d come sniff around a bit and check on you two.”
Zenona arrived at that moment, and Demetrius saw her stride stutter a bit at the sight of Clarabell. Demetrius knew the sight of the small, oddly dressed woman was a bit startling overall, but then he realized the last time Zenona had seen her had been during the werewolf attacks a few years ago.
“I assume it was you who paged me?” Zenona said, looking between Cody and Demetrius.
“Yeah, it was us,” Cody said, then lifted his chin in Clarabell’s direction. “This one just showed up talking about a magic ring and asking for directions to a volcano.”
“Ha ha,” Clarabell said in a dry tone. “Do you think you’re the first person to compare me to Frodo Baggins?”
“No,” Cody said. “But I was comparing you to Gollum.”
Clarabell gave him a hard look and Demetrius stood, putting himself in the space between them and giving Zenona a tight smile. “Hi, Zenona, how are you?”
Now that he was closer, he could see she looked worn down. Her skin was pale, and she’d tried to conceal dark circles under her eyes with makeup.
“That’s why you paged me?” She looked down at Cody, and her expression was so stern it made him pull back in his chair. “To see how I am? You could have just texted me that.” She looked back at Demetrius. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking. Is that it?”
“Um, sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Demetrius paused, trying to configure his response to prevent an outburst. “Actually, we were wondering if you might know something about the woman who was found in Parson’s Pond.”
Zenona crossed her arms and looked around, then took a step closer. “Not much. What do you want to know?”
“Is her body still down in the morgue?” Cody asked.
“What?” Zenona’s exclamation echoed around the lobby area, and several people turned to look their way. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “Why do you think I would know that?”
“You told us you were talking with the ME, and he told you about the bruising on her leg,” Demetrius said.
Clarabell made a quiet sound, and from the corner of his eye Demetrius saw her scribble something in her notebook.
“Oh. I did?” Zenona made a face before she nodded and pushed a few strands of dark hair back behind her ears. “That’s right. I did, didn’t I?” She looked around again and took another step closer. “Both bodies are down in the morgue. Michael wants to run some more tests before he releases them. And he’s getting a lot of pressure from the families, especially the woman’s, because it’s been several days since she was, um, brought in.”
Demetrius couldn’t suppress the flinch when he recalled bumping against her body in the pond.
“Okay, thanks,” Cody said. “That’s all we wanted to know.” He stood up and moved in a little closer than usual, lowering his voice but still perfectly audible to Demetrius. “I hope you’re taking care of yourself, Doc. I’m worried about you.”
Zenona smiled, and her shoulders lowered a bit. “I’m all right. Really, I am. I appreciate your concern, but I’m just going through a rough work patch right now. We’re so understaffed.”
“That’s it?” Cody said.
“That’s it.”
Zenona stepped in and gave Cody a hug, then she hugged Demetrius. He could feel how thin she’d gotten, and it pushed a sliver of concern into his heart. Out of all of Cody’s ex-girlfriends, and there were many, Zenona was far and away his favorite. If he had been putting money on which of the women Cody was going to end up marrying, Zenona would have been his pick.
Funny how life turned out sometimes.
Zenona stepped back and looked down at Clarabell. “It’s good to see you again, Clarabell. But I hope the fact that you’re here doesn’t mean we’re all in danger. Again.”
“What, can’t a gal come into town to visit her friends?”
“And which friends are these?” Cody said, voice dry as kindling.
Zenona laughed, bid them all goodbye, and headed for the elevators, her white coat floating behind and giving her a regal look.
“She looks really worn down,” Demetrius said.
